Camera Talk - ultra compact

[manarak]

My next ladyboy snaps will be shot with a Canon IXUS 200 IS.

24mm focal  and HD movies (1980x720), 12 MP.

What do you think about this baby?



I previously had a Ricoh Caplio R6, but it was really crap.
I hated it mostly because of the shitty low light performance and because the flash was way too bright (impossible to flash a person standing 2 meters away without producing ghost face or straight overexposition).

I shot previously with Canon 860 and 870 IS, and their performance was much better, I'm also expecting comparable performance from my new camera.

[manarak]

three shots taken in wat po, no pod.

first: no flash

second: half-flash

third: no flash

I'm quite happy how the camera handles the low light.

[manarak]

three shots using the "half-flash" with special settings to make low-lit backgrounds appear.

I'm quite impressed with that stuff, I have never been able to do that with an ultra compact before.
You have a crisp-sharp and well lit subject in the foreground and you keep a natural looking background even it is a night shot!

[manarak]

cinema at siam paragon top floor.

cool pic, I am really impressed that it is possible to take such pictures without a pod !
remember this is an ultra-compact

then a night shot out of the window - nice black

and the third pic is taken again with the "half flash" at the pool.
the pic is very nice.

[manarak]

lastly, some pics taken at Alcazar in Patts.

I was some 20 meters away from the stage, the pics are shot without a flash and with maximum zoom - and again, this is stuff my other ultra-cameras were unable to do.

[Snick]

Canon s90is

[petesie]

Looks alright to me..............my Nikon S630 seemed the bees knees at first but it doesn't really perform well in low light situ's with flash.............

[fleeing]

Not bad at all for a compact, but the lack of buttons to twiddle with would frustrate me after a while. Especially not being able to play with the aperture.

Snick is right (again   ) on the mark with the S90. Looks like it will be able to take really sharp pics in low light. But the price    at least in europe puts it firmly in another class.

Better camera = less barfines. Think I'll go for the Canon SX200 instead.

[bigmick22]

I employ a Thai sketch artist for 150 baht an hour

He even does the bedroom scenes and works fine under low-light conditions

[manarak]

well the IXUS 200 is even more compact than the SX200 and the S90is

I studied all three, but the 24mm lens on the IXUS 200 decided the purchase.

The S90 seems more versatile, but for what I do, I just need a camera that's really small to put in my front pocket next to my cock, so that I pull it out and put it quickly to use...
(confusing syntax intended)

And about the buttons... I got some other things to twiddle in the bar and in the loom !!
So, I want easy and good performance. Same as from the LBs!


Some downsides:
- camera is a bit slow to trigger
- pictures are not always as sharp as I would like (due to in-camera processing, alas, no RAW format)


Prices:

S90 - 430 USD at Newegg
SX200 - 330 USD at Newegg
IXUS 200  (for some reason the name is SD980 in the USA) - 310 USD at Newegg

[manarak]

The spot at the top of the ultra-compact pyramid is still vacant - no perfect camera out there.

What would be your list of wanted features?

Mine:
- more than 10 MP
- infinite timelapse (i.e. take a pic every 10 secs until the card is full)
- wideangle: 24mm or less
- HD movie clips
- waterresistant
- raw format, or 99% quality JPG
- good flash and low light performance
- manual focus
- and loads of stuff to set manually, but good point & shoot performance

...

?? ideas?

[Torurot]

-Fully water proof to 3 meters (not just water resistant)

[Snick]

S90 - 10mp should be enough. I ordered one and will get it in a few days. I met a guy last night who had one and the low light pictures w/o flash were amazing. This is the 'shoot in a bar' camera.

Lack of HD video is the biggest drawback.

The price in Europe and Oz is nuts, its $430 USA and 17 or 18,000 Baht in Thailand (which ain't too bad if you compare to USA+tax).

For waterproof there is a Canon scuba housing for $200, or an Ikelite housing for $325. I have the Iklelite on order, and a dive trip scheduled for mid December.

I've done a lot of research and haven't found a small size camera that can match it, only the Panasonic LX3 comes close.

If you want a waterproof camera, I would wait - all of the current cameras are 6 months old (Fuji Z33,Lumix TS1, Oly tough etc..). And I expect new models to come out soon.

Now who wants to buy Snick a Canon 1D-IVs for Christmas
?

[donnnnnny]

usa is the cheapeast right now especially if your buying from outside the country, the us dollar is crash low
did anyone say nikon LOL

[Snick]

I got my S90 and its great, but you'll have to wait a few days for me to actually post some pics.
Suffice it to say the hype is real, NYTimes agrees !
http://www.nytimes.com/2009....hnology

...
But come on: Halloween night without a flash? No problem. Indoor portraits? You€™re all set. I even took the S90 through the darkened tunnel rides of a theme park, and had to delete only a small percentage because of blurriness.

The S90 may not offer every single item on the Master Camera Wish List, but it offers more than any other pocket camera: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 20.

In fact, I€™ll come right out and say it: This camera takes better photos than any other pocket camera on the market.